Not What It Seems
by xandyxpandyx
Summary: Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki are given a mission to locate a traitor inside of Konohagakure. Of course, things aren't exactly what they seem to be. ShikaIno, NaruHina.
1. Mission Briefing

Author's note: Review? You'll get free hugs.:3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi sensei does.

Enjoy, loves~

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><p><em>Chapter One: Mission Briefing<em>

Tsunade paced behind her desk and brought a hand up to massage her temple. Why did everything have to be so stressful?

Two young men sat in the chairs on the opposite side of the desk, their eyes following her back and forth. She took a seat after what seemed like hours, and stared at the boys.

"I've called you here today because I have a mission for you. Its top secret, you must tell _nobody_. Is that clear, Uzumaki?" She barked at the blonde boy sitting on the left. He always had a way of messing things up. However, Naruto nodded, and gulped silently. "Good." the hokage said, almost too cheerfully. It was obvious that she didn't believe him, but she needed to force herself to believe it so the mission could get underway. "Now, the mission. There's a rogue ninja somewhere outside of the village walls, feeding on information from a villager. It's vital that you tell no one of your mission, as they might be the informant, and tip off the shinobi that plans to attack. Anyone could be the informant. We picked you two, for several reasons, and then tracked you for 2 weeks to be sure that neither of you are the traitor. Trust no one right now but each other and me. Any questions?"

The boys sat there quietly, taking in the details. The other boy perked up after a minute. "Just one."

"Yes?"

"How do you know there's an informant inside of the village?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning back in his seat. Tsunade smirked at him.

"You really are bright, aren't you Shikamaru?" She paused and took a deep breath, working over in her mind how to convey the answer. "There have been several attacks on the guards that surround Konohagakure, all within the last month. With each attack, a fatality. Also, a letter. Each letter provides a clue, like he's playing a game. We've managed to track down the clues to just a few villagers, but it doesn't limit the informant to just them. They may be unwillingly giving information, or they might not even know. It might be a member of their family, a friend, or even a jinxed item they come in contact with."

"So what exactly is our job?"

"I'll provide you with the identities of the villagers we suspect to be involved, knowingly or not. Your job is to get information out of them to the best of your ability. To make them slip up and tell you anything. You're one of our best thinkers, Shikamaru, so you're perfect for this job. You'll need to be extremely persuasive." She got up and walked to a cabinet on the wall, grabbed a scroll, and handed it to him. Naruto gaped at her.

"And what am I supposed to do?" He practically shouted, making Tsunade wince.

"Shut up, would you? I'm not finished." She rubbed her temple again, as her headache reappeared. "Now, we're aware that you're well known in the village, Shikamaru. That's where Naruto comes in. He's going to teach you his... erm, special jutsu."

Naruto was beyond ecstatic to hear this. His sexy jutsu was his favorite to perform, and teaching it was hilarious. Tsunade grabbed another scroll from the bottom shelf in the cabinet, and handed it to him.

"The two of you are to infiltrate the personal lives of the suspected. Everything you need to know that I haven't told you is in the scroll. Now go, your work starts in the morning." Upon saying this, she sat back down and went to work on a giant stack of papers on her desk. Shikamaru and Naruto took that as dismissal and left the room.

After a minute or two, Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I'm going to regret this."


	2. Worst Nightmare

Author's note: Blahblahblah review. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi sensei does.

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><p><em>Chapter Two: Worst Nightmare<em>

The hours following the mission briefing went by extremely fast. At least it felt that way to Shikamaru. As soon as he got home he collapsed onto his bed, and before long it was morning. He opened his eyes to the scroll still in his hand, so he tugged the string keeping it rolled and read.

_Mr. Nara,_

_Enclosed in this scroll is the information you will need to complete your assigned mission. Read carefully._

_Suspected Informants:_

_Sakura Haruno_

_Hinata Hyuuga_

_Ino Yamanaka_

_The letters pointed to "young kunoichi of respectable heritage". The rogue has not told the informant of the letters, and he wants the person in custody, so he's doing everything but include names. His goal is to have Konohagakure crumble from the inside, and become vulnerable to attack. He's playing a game with us. We have reason to believe he is not alone, and very dangerous._

_Remember that the suspects may or may not be aware that they are giving information. Each is innocent until proven guilty of being a traitor. Do not tip them off by acting like they are criminals. We have no verifiable proof. Only the letters written by a murderer._

_Day One will be your training day. Oiroke no Justu will be essential to complete this mission, as you will need to force yourself into the social group that contains the three suspects._

_Day Two you will be "introduced" to them via arranged appointment. They have been told that you and Naruto are visitors to the village, and will need to be shown around. You will be given a second scroll shortly before the meeting to touch you up on the background of your new identity. The rest is up to you. Report all findings, no matter how small and insignificant they seem._

_Good luck._

_~Tsunade._

_5th Hokage of Konohagakure, Village Hidden in the Leaves_

Shikamaru couldn't help but gape at the three names written in the scroll. He had known them all his life, so how could they be in on something like this? He thought for a minute, going through scenarios in his head. He decided that Tsunade was right in saying that they're innocent until proven guilty. What if they weren't involved at all? It could all just be a decoy to distract the hokage.

It was no use to sit there and think, so he got up and left, on his way to Naruto's small apartment. There weren't many people out on the street, which was odd at that hour. It didn't really bother him though. He preferred the quiet.

But his beloved silence was interrupted by an enormous blast of heat, coming from just up ahead. Screams of terror ripped through the village, and Shikamaru's pace jumped to a sprint. The heat got more intense as he got closer to the source, and he recognized the area as a guard's post. Oh boy.

A large crowd was gathering, and up above was a large man in a white coat, holding what looked like a charred body. The man's eyes were filled with blood lust, and anyone within a mile could feel his rage. He threw the body into the middle of the crowd and laughed, almost to the point of hysteria. There was no doubting the man was clinically insane.

"Who are you?" Came Tsunade's voice from the crowd. The man laughed again.

He squatted down and leaned forward to stare into the villager's faces. His face had several scars, some whitened with age, some red and fresh. His hair was short and close to his head, and unnaturally white like his coat. He looked like he was in his 20s, maybe younger. And his voice came out strong and low. "I, my dear Tsunade, am your worst nightmare."

Shikamaru was stunned along with the rest of the villagers in the crowd. And when he blinked, the man was gone.


	3. Taking After Kakashi

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated; finals and such. I should update much more frequently now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi sensei does.

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><p><em>Chapter Three: Taking After Kakashi<em>

"Lady Tsunade!" Shikamaru called, attempting to find her amidst the chaos. There were people everywhere running every which way. That had been the first public killing. The village no longer felt safe. "Lady Tsunade?"

He caught a glimpse of her to the right. As he moved through the crowd, his leg caught on another person. His hands hit the pavement and when he opened his eyes, he was face to face with the charred body of the guard. It was impossible to tell who it was from looking at it, and the sight alone nearly made him vomit, nevermind the smell.

Shikamaru knelt frozen in a mix of horror and disgust. A strong hand took hold of his shoulder and yanked him up. "Go to Naruto's, _now_. We can't let this continue."

Tsunade's voice brought him back to a clear head. He nodded and pushed through the remaining villagers, breaking into a sprint. The entire village was out of sorts, shops closed and windows locked. Only one part of the village seemed untouched. Shikamaru could hear loud snoring coming from the other side of the wall.

"Naruto!" he yelled as he banged his fist on Naruto's apartment door. "Naruto wake up!"

Shikamaru sighed. Of all the people, it had to be him. He slammed his hand on the door again. "Chikushou, Naruto!" 

After a few more pounds, he snoring abruptly stopped. It took a minute before Shikamaru could hear any noise at all. But then the door thrust open, and a very disheveled Naruto appeared. "Ge?"

"We were supposed to start training," he checked his watch, "an hour and a half ago."

"Shit!" Naruto looked at him and down at himself and slammed the door in Shikamaru's face. He gaped at the wood, frustrated at the blonde's stupidity. On the other side of the door, Naruto frantically searched for somewhat clean clothing. He found a pair of pants and pushed a leg through, trying to get to the kitchen at the same time to put a cup of ramen in the done, he pushed the other leg through and slid on the only t-shirt in his closet, one he had particularly never worn before.

Shikamaru began pounding on the door again a second before the microwave beeped. Naruto shoved his sandals on and his headband in his pocket, grabbed the cup ramen, and made towards the door. "Chikushou, Naruto! Open this fucking door!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he yelled back, swinging the door open and pushing Shikamaru aside. "Are you coming or what? I have to do everything around here, dattebayo."


End file.
